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Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to the Quorum of the Twelve, , 15 Dec. 1840; handwriting of ; signature of JS; eight pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets and notations.
Bifolium measuring 12¼ × 7¾ inches (31 × 20 cm) when folded. The text was cross-written: wrote horizontally on the first three pages and then returned to the first page and began writing up the page at a right angle, continuing this cross-writing through the recto of the second leaf. In other words, six pages of text were inscribed on one and a half leaves of the document. The document was then trifolded in letter style, with the blank fourth page on the outside, thereby creating an address panel in the middle of the fourth page, with flaps above and beneath the panel. Thompson inscribed text on those two flaps (which together constitute page [7] of the document), then added a postscript and addressing at a right angle over the initial writing (page [8]). Thompson wrote “To the ‘Twelve’” on the address panel. The document was trifolded again in letter style. Folding and wear indicate this was the sent copy. The letter was refolded for filing twice, and each time a docket was added. The earliest docket was written by ; the second docket was written in an unknown hand. Andrew Jenson inscribed two notations.
The dockets and the inclusion of the document in a later inventory suggest this letter was in the custody of the Church Historian’s Office by the mid-nineteenth century. In 1973 the document was included as part of the JS Collection.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, draft, 5; “Index to Papers in the Historian’s Office,” ca. 1904, 5, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL. The circa 1904 Historian’s Office inventories listed this item as “President Joseph Smith to the Twelve (published under date of Oct. 19, 1840),” reflecting that the letter had been misdated when transcribed into the multivolume manuscript history of the church and subsequently published under that date in the Deseret News. (See JS History, vol. C-1, 1115–1119; and “History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 26 Oct. 1854, [1].)

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  2. [2]

    Johnson, Register to the Joseph Smith Collection, 8; see also the full bibliographic entry for the JS Collection in the CHL catalog.

    Johnson, Jeffery O. Register of the Joseph Smith Collection in the Church Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973.

Historical Introduction

On 15 December 1840, JS wrote a letter to the members of the then serving a mission in . At the time of this letter, eight of the eleven apostles then making up the were in Great Britain. Seven—, , , , , , and —departed , Illinois, in 1839, and one——was an apostle in April 1840 while in England. and were expected to pass through Great Britain in the coming months on their mission to the Jews in Europe and Palestine, and considered himself too poor to make the journey.
By the time of this letter, membership in had increased to over thirty-five hundred. Under the apostles’ direction, missionaries had been sent to Scotland, Ireland, Australia, and the East Indies. The apostles had also published a hymnal and several issues of a new monthly periodical, the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. They additionally had made significant progress toward republishing the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon. Since leaving , the apostles had written several letters to JS and received one known letter from him in return, dated 19 July 1840.
While JS acknowledged the multiple unanswered letters he had received from the Twelve, he seems to have written this 15 December letter in response to a series of questions and posed in a 5 September 1840 letter. JS responded to what he considered the most pertinent questions, particularly those that asked about the timing of the Twelve’s return to , Illinois; the publication of the scriptures in Great Britain; and the migration of British Saints to Nauvoo. Additionally, JS shared local news, reporting on the plans for the Nauvoo , efforts to get the legislature to pass the Nauvoo city charter, the death of , and recent conversions. He also briefly instructed the apostles on for the dead, a practice instituted the previous August and September in Nauvoo, making this the earliest firsthand source from JS to explain this teaching.
The letter is in the handwriting of . The lack of postage markings suggests that it was hand carried rather than mailed to Great Britain. The apostles received the letter by 30 March 1841. A significant excerpt was published in the 1 January 1841 issue of the Times and Seasons and then was reprinted in the Millennial Star in March 1841.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Deceased apostle David W. Patten was not replaced until the April 1841 general conference appointed Lyman Wight as an apostle. (“Minutes of the General Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1841, 2:387.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840; Woodruff, Journal, 14 Apr. 1840.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  3. [3]

    Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840; William Smith, Plymouth, IL, 1 Dec. 1840, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 15 Dec. 1840, 2:252–253.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    “Minutes of the General Conference,” LDS Millennial Star, Oct. 1840, 1:165–166.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  5. [5]

    Letter from Heber C. Kimball, 9 July 1840; “News from the Elders,” Times and Seasons, 1 Dec. 1840, 2:228–230.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  6. [6]

    “Minutes of the General Conference,” LDS Millennial Star, July 1840, 1:69.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  7. [7]

    See John Tompkins, Estimate, 7 June 1840, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL; and Woodruff, Journal, 7 July 1840.

    Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  8. [8]

    This letter is not extant; however, it was documented in a note in JS Letterbook 2. (Note, in JS Letterbook 2, p. 153.)

  9. [9]

    Letter from Brigham Young and Willard Richards, 5 Sept. 1840.

  10. [10]

    JS first spoke on baptism for the dead on 15 August 1840. The first baptisms for the dead occurred in the Mississippi River as early as 13 September 1840. (Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

  11. [11]

    On 30 March 1841, Wilford Woodruff wrote, “We also received many letters from Nauvoo [including] one from Br Joseph to the Twelve.” (Woodruff, Journal, 30 Mar. 1841.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  12. [12]

    JS, “Extract from an Epistle to the Elders in England,” Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:258–261; JS, “Extracts from an Epistle to the Elders in England,” LDS Millennial Star, Mar. 1841, 1:265–269.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840 Letterbook 2 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [6]

Let the remember that great things depend on their individual exertion, and that they are called to be co-workers with us and the holy spirit in accomplishing the great works of the last days, and in consideration of the extent, the blessings, and the glories of the same let every selfish feeling be not only buried, but anihalated, and let love to God and man, predominate and reign triumphant in every mind, that their hearts may become like unto Enoch’s of old so that they may comprehend all things, present, past, and future, and “come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ”. The work in which we are unitedly engaged in, is one of no ordinary kind, the enemies we have to contend against are subtle and well skilled in manuvering, it behoves us then to be on the alert, to concentrate our energies, and that the best feelings should exists in our midst, and then by the help of the Almighty we shall go on from victory to victory and from conquest unto conquest, our evil passions will be subdued, our predjudices depart, we shall find no room in our bosoms for hatred, vice will hide its deformed head, and we shall stand approved in the sight of heaven and be acknowledged “the Sons of God” Let us realize that we are not to live to ourselves but to God by so doing the greatest blessings will rest upon us both in time and in Eternity.
I presume the doctrine of “ for the dead” has ere this reached your ears, and may have raised some inquiries in your mind respecting the same. I cannot in this letter give you all the information you may desire on the subject, but aside from my knowledg[e] independant of the Bible, I would say, that this was certainly practized by the antient churches And. St Paul endeavors to prove the doctrine of the ressurrection from the same, and says “else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead[”] &c &c. I first mentioned the doctrine in public while preaching the funeral sermon of , and have since then given general instructions to the on the subject. The saints have the priviledge of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead, who they feel to believe would have embraced the gospel if they had been priviledged with hearing it, and who have received the gospel in the spirit through the instrumentality of those who may have been commissioned to preach to them while in the prison. Without enlarging on the subject you will undoubtedly see its consistancy, and reasonableness, and presents the the gospel of Christ in probably a more enlarged scale than some have received it. But as the performance of this right is more particularly confined to this place it will not be necessary to enter into particulars, at the same time I allways feel glad to give all the information in my power, but my space will not allow me to do it. [p. [6]]
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Source Note

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Page [6]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840
ID #
588
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:457–472
Handwriting on This Page
  • Robert B. Thompson

Footnotes

  1. [39]

    JS’s revision of the Bible included added material regarding Enoch, such as a panoptic vision in which the Lord “told Enck [Enoch] all the doings of the children of men wherefore Enoch knew and looked upon their wickedness and their misary and wept and stretched forth his arms & his heart swelled wide as eternity.” (Old Testament Revision 1, p. 17 [Moses 7:41].)

  2. [40]

    1 Corinthians 1:7.

  3. [41]

    See Romans 8:14.

  4. [42]

    Members of the Twelve had received at least two letters that documented the teaching of the doctrine in Nauvoo. (Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL; Woodruff, Journal, 3 Dec. 1840.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. Digital scans. CHL. Originals in private possession.

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  5. [43]

    Vilate Murray Kimball reported that “by Revelation” JS had “received a more full explaination” of baptism for the dead than what was in the Bible. (Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.)

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

  6. [44]

    1 Corinthians 15:29.

  7. [45]

    JS preached this funeral sermon on 15 August 1840. He provided further instruction on the ordinance during the October 1840 general conference held in Nauvoo. (Jane Harper Neyman and Vienna Jaques, Statement, 29 Nov. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; Simon Baker, “15 Aug. 1840 Minutes of Recollection of Joseph Smith’s Sermon,” JS Collection, CHL; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

    Smith, Joseph. Collection, 1827–1846. CHL. MS 155.

  8. [46]

    Phebe Carter Woodruff explained that JS taught that the Saints could be baptized “for their children, parents, b[r]others, sisters, grandparents, uncles, & aunts— but not for acquaintances unless they send a ministering spirit to their friends on earth.” (Phebe Carter Woodruff, Lee Co., Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, 6–19 Oct. 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Collection, 1831–1905. Digital scans. CHL. Originals in private possession.

  9. [47]

    According to a record of a January 1836 vision, JS heard the voice of the Lord pronounce that “all who have died with[out] a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it, if they had been permited to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God— also all that shall die henseforth, without a knowledge of it, who would have received it, with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom.” (Visions, 21 Jan. 1836 [D&C 137:8].)

  10. [48]

    See 1 Peter 3:19. In 1838 JS explained that “all those who have not had an opportunity of hearing the gospel, and being administered to by an inspired man in the flesh, must have it hereafter, before they can be finally judged.” ([JS], Editorial, Elders’ Journal, July 1838, 43.)

  11. [49]

    In a letter dated 11 October 1840, Vilate Murray Kimball explained to her husband, “There is a perticlelar [particular] order that the Elders have to adminester [baptism for the dead] in, and to presurve this order it was President Smiths advise that it should not be attended to only in” Nauvoo. (Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, 11 Oct. 1840, photocopy, Vilate Murray Kimball, Letters, 1840, CHL.)

    Kimball, Vilate Murray. Letters, 1840. Photocopy. CHL.

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